Extension-slide cabinet-drawer.



C. E. RYCROFT.

ExENsloN suce cABlNEr DRAWER.

APPLICATION FILED ,IUNE 21.1918- l ,25,@0 Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

SHEETS-SIIEET 2.

lnifezzor:

ofloraeys.

l line 2, 2, Fig. 1.

.UNITED "STATES PA L CHARLES E. BOYCBOFT, OF COVINGTON, KENTUCKY,ASSIGNOR TO THE GLOBE- l WEBNICKE COMPANY, OF NORWOOD, OHIO, ACORPORATION OF OHIO.

EXTENSION-SLIDE CABINET-DRAWER.

Application tiled J une 2'?, 1918. Serial No. 242,271.

An object of the invention is to provide' an extension-slide drawersupport embody'- -ing floating roller bearings arranged to distributethe load of the'drawer thereon to insure a free non-binding operation.

Another object is to provide means whereby the rebound of the drawerupon being closed, maybe checked, and also whereby -the drawer, whenpartially opened, by its rebound or otherwise, may be automaticallyentirely closed.

A further object is to provide a device of this character, of closelycompact design, special attention being given to promoting economy inmanufacture by the elimination of screws, studs and of numerousassembling operations.

These and other objects are accomplished by my invention in the mannerand by the mechanism described in the following specification and setforth in the appended claims, a preferred embodiment beingl illustratedin the accompanying drawings,^in which Figure 1 is a verticallongitudinal section through a drawer cabinet provided with my improvedextension-slide mechanism; and in which the top drawer andextension-slide is removed to clearly show the stationary channel plate;the next three drawers are shown in different operative positions, onlythe front panel and left drawer rail of eac i drawer being` shown, thebottom drawer. is shown in full, partly broken awayat each end.

Fig. 2 is a, vertical transverse section on In the following descriptionthe terms secured to or attached to will be taken to mean` electric spotwelded, unless otherwise specifically amplified, for the reason thatwelding cannot be illustrated in the drawings.

In my present invention, particular attention has been given to economyof manufacture, especially for quantity production, and to this end thepresent embodiment of the invention provides a structure in which theassembling operations have been reduced to a minimum by the eliminationof pivot studs, rivets and screws, except in so far as screws arenecessary for attachment to the wood cabinet and drawers.

While l have shown the invention applied to a wood cabinet it is obviousthat itis equally adapted for use in connection with cabinets and otherarticles of furniture of metal or other material. V y

The cabinet 1 comprising the main sup- Sorting structure is subdividedto provide ravver chambers by the partition slats 2 and operating ineach chamber is a drawer hav ing a front wall or panel 4 which normallyclosesthe front of said chamber, side walls 5, 5, rear wall 6, and abottom wall 7, the

width of the drawer in rear of its front panel being slightly lessthan'that of the chamber at the same point, so as to accommodate thedrawer supporting mechanism between the casing and each drawer sidewall.

The mechanism at each side of the drawer being of duplicateconstruction. the follow ling description will be confined to thesingular and limited to an explanation of one drawer unit, the otherbeing identical with the exception of the differences of right and lefthand parts.

As most clearly shown in the top drawer chamber, I provide a stationarytrack member 10 secured to the casing by screws 11. This member isformed of a single sheet lmetal stamping, the upper marginal edgeoffwhich is bent laterally and downwardly Patented Nom-26, 1918. l

to form a channel providing a track 12 and guide ledge 13. The lowermarginal edge is also bent laterally to form a track 14, which at eachend is provided with upwardly turned guide ledges 1516. The track 14 isslightly raised at 17 to form from this point a short rearwardlyinclined portion 18 and a gradual forwardly inclined portion 19. y

Arranged to travel in the stationary track member 10, is anextension-slide member 20 of 'sheet metal. having `its lower marginaledge bent laterally to form a Vshelf 21,'and

the major forward portion of its upper marginal edge bent laterally toform a track 22. Secured to the forward portion of the slide member 20,adjacent the shelf 21, is a lroller retaining plate 23, forming withsaid member, a. roller receiving channel in which a roller 24 is adaptedto travel, the roller 2-1 is provided with a hub or boss 25, and theplate 23 has its upper edge turned inwardly to retain said roller withinits channel, (see Fig. 2). rlQhe roller 24 travels on the shelf 21 ofthe slide member 20 and supports the forward end of the drawer upon theslide member by engagement with the under side of a horizontal drawerrail 26, which has an upturned flange portion attached to the drawerside wall 5 by screws 27 and a downturned marginal lip 28 extendingclosely adjacent the slide member 20 to limit the sidewise play of thedrawer.

A main drawer supporting roller 30 is retained in a pocket formed by.the slide member 2O and a clevis strap 31 fixed to said slide member,providing an upper pocket throat of lesser longitudinal length than the`diameter of the roller 30 to prevent the roller being pushed upwardlyout of its re taining pocket. The roller 30 projects downwardly throughan opening cut in the shelf 21 of the'slide member and engages the track14, said opening also being of lesser length than the diameter of theroller to retain the roller within its pocket while at the same timeallowing a slight vertical play of the roller independent of the slidemember 20.

This Vroller 30 also engages the lower surface ofthe drawer rail 26. andin its normal position, when the drawer is closed, is immediately inrear of the inclined portion 18 of the stationary track 14. Attached tothe upper rear portion oflthe slide member is a U-shaped channel plate35 having closed ends and a longitudinal slot 37 cut in the forwardportion of its lower wall, the' rear portion thereof forming a track 36.A floating roller 38 travels freely in the rear portion of the channelformed by this plate 35, said roller engaging the track 36 thereof andthe track l2 of the stationary track member 10. A floating roller 39travels within the forward portion of said channel and projects throughthe slot 37, it being retained against dropping through said slot by ahub or boss 40. The roller 39 is engaged by the drawer rail 26 and inturn engages the, under surface of the track 22 of the slide member 20,thereby serving as a means for supporting the slide member upon thedrawer rail.

An inclined flange 41 is secured to the forward end of the slide member20 and serves as a guide for initially inserting the drawer into thecabinet ,and also as a stop to limit an upward tilting of the drawerrelative to the slide member.

A leaf spring stop member 45 is fixed to the shelf 21 of the slidemember 2O and projects laterally so as to alternately engage the opposinedges of the guide ledges l5, 16, of the p'ate l0 to limit the travel ofthe slide member. To remove the slide member from the cabinet, thespring member 45 is raised to clear the guide ledge 15. To limit themovements of the drawer, I provide a rubber covered bumper 50 which issecured to the 75 cabinet by screws, as shown, and which is adapted tobe alternately engaged by a pair of opposing stop plates 51, 52, securedto the bottom wall 7 f'of the drawer.

rThe main roller 30 is located in rear of the center of the drawer andthe drawer rail 26, using said roller as a pivot presses upwardly on theroller 39, which by its engagement with the track 22 exerts an upwardpressure upon the rear portion of the slide member 20. This upwardpressure, through the track 36, holds the roller 38 in contact with thestationary track 12 and acting against said roller as a pivot, exerts anupward pressure on the forward end of the slide member to contact theforward roller 24 with the drawer rail.

it may be stated that the roller 30 is the main load roller, as it atall times bears the major portion of the drawer load and the oppositerollers 24: and 38 may be termed secondary load rollers, they serving tokeep the drawer level by preventing the drawer from tilting.

As previously stated the normal position of the main roller 30 is justin rear of the inclined portion 18 of the stationary track le, ri`hisinclined track portion causes the drawer to automatically close from alpartially open position or to return to closed position after itsrebound, gravity forcing the roller 30 and supported parts rearwardlydown said inclined track portion. The gradually inclined portion 19assists in the opening movement of the drawer and to a il@ degree checksa forceful closing thereof.

it will be noted that the secondary load rollers 24, 38, are normallypositioned at the end of their respective tracks closest to the mainload roller 30, and as the drawer is withdrawn they become furtherseparated, providing increasing and compensating stability of themechanism as the overhanging load of the withdrawn drawer increases.

The vertical free play of the roller 30, relative to the slide member 2Ocompensates Jfor the elevation thereof 4when riding over the raisedportion 17 of the track le and allows a free compensating movement ofthe slide member 20 to keep the drawer in an even. 1125 horizontalplane.

Having described my invention, l claim 1. ln a device of the classdescribed, a casing having a stationary track, an extensionslide member,a drawer having a horizontal rail and-a series of floating rollerssupporting the drawer u on the stationary track and the slide mem erupon the drawer rail.

2. In a device of the class described, a casing having a stationarytrack, an extensionslide member, a drawer having a horizontal rail, adrawer supporting element engaging the track, a slide member supportingelement engaging the drawer rail, and a pair of compensating elementstraveling in the same direction relative to the stationary track and inopposite directions, relative to the drawer supporting element.

3. In a device of the class described, a casing having a stationarytrack formed with an incline, an extension-slide member, a drawer havinga horizontal rail, a main 'load roller engaging the track normally inrear of the track incline and supporting the drawer, means supportingthe slide member upon the drawer rail, and a pair of compensatingelements mounted to travel upon the slide member in opposite directionsfrom the main load roller and engaging the drawer rail and stationarytrack respectively.

4. In a device of the class described, a casing havin a stationarytrack, an extensionslide mem er, a drawer having a horizontal rail,means supporting the slide member upon the drawer ra1l, a main loadroller engaging the track and the drawer rail, and a pair ofcompensating oating rollers adapted to be moved in opposite directionsrelative to the main load roller to stabilize the drawer.

5. In a device of the class described, a casing having a drawer chamber,a drawer adapted to travel therein and having a horizent-al rail, astationary track member having an upper track and a lower track providedwith an inclined portion, an extension-slide member intermediate saidtracks, a main load roller normally engaging the lower track in rear ofthe inclined portion thereof, said roller being loosely retained on theslide member and in engagement with the drawer rail, a floating rollerfreely movable on the slide member and supporting said slide member onthe drawer rail, and a pair of secondary load rollers freely movable onthe slide member, one thereof engaging the drawer rail and the otherengaging the upper track of the stationary track member.

6. In a device of' the class described, a casing having a drawerchamber, a drawer adapted to travel therein and having a drawer rail, astationary track member, an extension-slide member having a plurality oftracks, a main load roller loosely carried by the slide member andengaging the stationary track member and the drawer rail to support thedrawer on the stationary track member, a floating roller engaging theslide member and drawer rail to support the slide member on the drawerrail, and a air of floating compensating rollers operating in oppositedirections relative to the main load roller, one cooperating with theslide member and drawer rail and the other with the slide member andstationary track member.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name, as attested by the twosubscribing witnesses.

CHARLES E. ROYCROFT. Witnesses: D. DRACHENBERG,

L. A. BECK.

